Christmas! We love Christmas! It is the most anticipated holiday all around the world. As Christmas day symbolize love, it is the time of the year for gift-giving and family gathering. Ber-months have begun and thus, Filipinos start to countdown to Christmas! It is a joyous occasion that everyone celebrates on the 25th day of December and it’s the day when the Lord gave humanity His greatest gift, Jesus Christ. Let’s face it, we always prepare or save a large sum of money for gift-giving. While it hurts our pockets and wallets to do so, we can’t help but spend money to prepare the best gift for our loved ones. The real question is, how to plan for a thrifty Christmas? How to celebrate the holidays without too much effect on your cash flow? With the ongoing threat of Covid19, how can we have a memorable Christmas under lockdown? Below are the steps you must consider in celebrating the much anticipated time of the year.
1. Preparation
The first step is to save up or prepare money for Christmas. Visit the nearest AllBank branch and open a savings account. This will keep your money safe and earned interest while you wait for Christmas. This way you will surely have your budget for Noche Buena and gift-giving. This is already a normal method for all of us as we already counting September as the start of the Christmas Season.
2. Make a plan
The second step is we must make a plan for the holiday season. This way, we will be able to track what are the things we need to prepare such as gift wraps, decorations, money envelopes, Christmas trees, and of course, the gifts! We can also make a plan where and when we should buy the things we need. Head to the nearest AllHome branch and check what they offer. From Christmas decorations, kitchenware, beauty, apparel, and shoes, you can find everything at Allhome. This will ease our plan with shopping, decorating, and cooking. During Noche Buena, there are lots of variants and sweets on our table. While it is pleasing to the eyes, people tend to cook more than what they can consume. This leads to waste and spoilage. Let’s plan and prepare food that will perfectly accommodate the number of people in our household. This way leftover foods would no longer be our problem on the morning of Christmas. Making the plan will help us celebrate Christmas in a thrifty manner rather than deciding everything at the last minute which eventually leads us to spend more than we can afford.
3. Make a budget
Making an annual budget will help us plan for a thrifty Christmas. This will enable us to celebrate the holidays without much effect on our cash flow. Make a list of people we will be giving gifts to, what are things we plan to give, and our corresponding budget. Make sure that what we have listed will be beneficial when we go shopping for the holidays. Budgeting is an effective way to estimate our revenue and cost and it is important information not just for the holidays, but in our lifetime. It dictates our purchasing power and financial status. Making a budget is a good way to start managing our finances.
4. Stick to the budget
When we make a budget, make sure to stick to it otherwise, it will be a waste. Some people tend to spend over the budget thinking it is just a small amount but when we do this now and then, it is unlikely that we could plan for a thrifty Christmas. Refrain from spending over the budget and consider other options if what you have budgeted is not available. Other options would include a visit to a different store location or a different brand.
5. Sales and discounts
The next step is to watch out for sales and discounts this Christmas time. Keeping track of the sales would greatly help our wallets. Follow Allhome and Allday on Facebook for for great gift ideas and future announcements of Christmas sales. We will find great ideas to gift to our friends and family. May it be an item of clothing that will suit your best friend’s fashion, a home appliance that your wife would love, a tool that is on your husband’s wishlist, a bag that your daughter has keeping her eyes on, a pair of shoes that your son has been asking from you, and a lot of more. A downside of sales would be that an item is up to sale that we want and also not included in the budget. This is the danger of sales. So make sure we also have the discipline to stick to the budget and to differentiate from wants and needs.
Suggested Read: Best Christmas Gifts for Kids 2021
6. Decorations
The fourth step is to decorate your home with simplicity. Buy decorations at Allhome that are steady and with timeless design. This way we can re-use the said decorations for the next holiday. Designing simply will also cut down unnecessary electricity costs and charges. We just need enough decorations to keep our home bright and merry this Christmas. Make sure to buy items that are red, a Christmas lights that are of high quality at a reasonable price, a Christmas tree that is easy to store, and various decorations.
7. Meaning of Christmas
It is also important to understand and to know the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas is the day we celebrate, as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was born. As God is love, we ought to give love to everyone on this day. Leave all those past mistakes, fights, and trouble, as the Lord will surely bless us. This implies that regardless of value, Christmas is more about love rather than gifts and money. You don’t have to feel guilty or ashame for celebrating Christmas in a simple manner. What matters is the thought and the heart of giving.
8. Celebrate at Home
The last step is to celebrate at home! Due to the ongoing pandemic, our health is our top priority above all else. Celebrating Christmas at home with your family can alos. Being with your family at your house and lot in Bria Homes will bring you closer together. The world may be experiencing challenging times but that doesn’t mean you can no longer celebrate what we used to do. You can have so much fun as you did pre-pandemic as you would do today. We can eat with our family, we can attend an online mass together, we can video call our loved ones who are outside, we can diy gifts and deliver it through apps, and all of this we can do at the comfort of our home. Who says we can’t enjoy ourselves with the whole family at home? It’s a matter of one’s preference and mindset.
With our current situation, saving money is better than having no money. We can use the money we saved in times of emergency. Our top priority is our and our family’s health. With this, we can celebrate the Christmas season with no worries. We do not have to showcase to others that we spend Christmas luxuriously and end up with no money after the event. Save money, consider ourselves first above what others view us. Because at the end of the day, the perfect gift is this life is given to us to enjoy. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
